Dalton Baldwin is eagerly anticipating the next step in his racing career. The 18-year old from Clearwater, FL will compete in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour in 2013 and challenge for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year trophy.
The race season kicks off at Daytona International Speedway on February 19th at the UNOH Battle at the Beach during Budweiser Speedweeks. This will be Daytona’s debut of its new 0.4-mile short-track oval located on the superstretch and will feature two 25 lap qualifying races. How you finish in the qualifying races, determines where you will start the 150 lap feature event, which is sure to bring national bragging rights to the winner.
In 2012, in only his second start, Baldwin finished second at the newly NASCAR sanctioned New Smyrna Speedway. Baldwin and his team enter Daytona with the confidence of a team that has had success at five different tracks in his home town state of Florida, including three wins.
“It’s taken a lot to just get here, and we’re just scratching the surface. We’re underfunded compared to a lot of these guys, especially the northern tour teams. But we make up for that with determination and integrity. I don’t believe any other team has a will to win as high as we do.
So what does Baldwin think of the new track?
“This is the first event for the short track since they laid it out last year. So, it should be exciting seeing how the track works, and who can pick it up quick and who will struggle with it.” Baldwin said.
With bragging rights on the line, Baldwin and his team would love to capture the home state victory in his first start.
“It would be huge for us. Winning an inaugural race at a track is awesome because it sort of makes you king of the hill for the years to come. But, it’s also a combo race with the Whelen Modified Tour and a Southern team has never won a combo race, so that would be a big deal as well. Plus, it will be a pretty prestigious event to win.”
Whatever challenges that the team faces, Dalton is certain that he has the perfect crew for the job.
“My Dad and our part-time crew chief, Rich Arend, are really amazing when it comes to setting up a car. We may not always have the power down the straightaway, but you can be sure we’ll be fast in the corners.”
Dalton Baldwin Racing (DBR) is family owned and operated and they feel the daily pressure to perform and to win.
“It is more pressure to run well because we don’t have many sponsors. So, being that we fund it almost entirely on our own, it can be a lot of pressure to run well. That’s why I try to separate myself from the money aspect. I have a lot of pressure to run well because I want a career as a driver, so I have to run well if I want to move up to the top 3 NASCAR series.” Baldwin said.
With all of the demand on and off of the track, you would think that stress and a lot of sacrifices have to be made each week in order to race. But DBR does not consider any of this a “sacrifice”.
“Well, to us, racing is our lives. So, we don’t have to make many sacrifices, it’s just what we do. We don’t want to do anything else but racing. Anything we put towards this isn’t a sacrifice to us; it’s a way of life.” Baldwin said.
Dalton’s goals are to win the 2013 Rookie of the Year and the championship in his following season.
“I’d like to finish in the top-3 in points as well. But ultimately, I’m really just trying to prove myself to everyone. So, I want to just be competitive and up front, showing that we can compete with these guys.” Baldwin said.
“I’m not entirely sure where this NASCAR road is going to take me, but I do know that it will be a wild one if we take off on it.” Baldwin added.
More information on the UNOH Battle at the Beach can be found at hometracks.nascar.com.
For more information about Dalton Baldwin Racing including driver bio, race schedule, pictures and videos, please visit www.daltonbaldwin.com. You can also find his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/DaltonBaldwinRacing and Twitter at http://www.facebook.com/DaltonBaldwinRacing.
